Scottish Forestry funds electric timber truck trial in Scotland

Electric timber trucks will be put through their paces during a three-year trial in Scotland, thanks to £452,000 in funding from the Scottish Forestry.

As part of the trial, two Scottish timber companies, James Jones and Sons and Scotlog Haulage, have joined forces with Volvo and Cleaner EV to undertake the demonstrator project.

Around 7 million tonnes of wood are harvested from Scotland’s forests each year and transported to sawmills, board manufacturers and other processors, mostly on 44-tonne diesel lorries.

Creel Maritime consultants will monitor the use of the lorries and manage the project. Neil Stoddart, director of Creel Maritime, explained: “In terms of road haulage, the timber industry is pretty advanced in looking for solutions to decarbonise.

“For example, we are reducing diesel lorry miles on many projects and opting for transport by sea.

“Additionally, we are reviewing using an alternative fuelled barge to transport logs across a remote Loch in the Highlands.”

However, he said: “There are big challenges in running articulated lorries on electric power, mainly on cost grounds and infrastructure.

“This three-year trial will look into all these aspects and I’m keen to share as much detail on this with the industry.”

A key element of the three-year trial is that all the partners involved are committed to sharing their experiences of running the electric lorries with others in the timber and rural haulage sectors.

James Jones and Sons will trial a 40-tonne articulated lorry from their sawmill in Lockerbie to transport timber to their Hangingshaws national distribution centre.  

Scotlog Haulage will trial a 44-tonne truck in the Highlands, moving roundwood timber from Inverness Harbour to West Fraser and other local mills.

During the three-year trial, the vehicles will be evaluated for their achievable mileage versus battery consumption, durability, viability and total cost of ownership.

Announcing the funding package, Rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “Forestry is vital to helping Scotland achieve its net zero target by 2045. 

“Around 7.6 million tonnes of harmful CO2 is taken out of the atmosphere from Scotland’s trees each year and the timber used in houses and other wooden products lock away carbon for its lifetime.

“The forestry sector is innovative and always using new technology to increase its business efficiencies.

“I welcome this new trial and look forward to hearing more about the findings as we drive closer to Net Zero.”

The two new Volvo electric timber vehicles are currently being manufactured in Gothenburg and are expected to be ready for use later this summer.